Risingbd Online Bangla News Portal

Dhaka     Thursday   28 March 2024

China summons Indian envoy

2 || risingbd.com

Published: 05:11, 6 April 2017   Update: 15:18, 26 July 2020
China summons Indian envoy

International Desk: The Chinese foreign ministry summoned Indian ambassador Vijay Gokhale at the ministry office on Wednesday to lodge an angry protest against the Dalai Lama's ongoing tour of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.

Warning the visit would "escalate" border disputes between the two countries, China's Foreign Ministry suggested it wanted India to stop the nine-day visit of the Tibetan spiritual leader. "We demand India stop using the Dalai Lama to do anything that undermines China's interests and we also demand the Indian side not hype up sensitive issues between India and China," spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

China also said it would take "necessary measures", without specifying, to protect its "sovereignty".

Indian Ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale was called in Wednesday afternoon to the Foreign Ministry. Embassy sources confirmed that Gokhale had talks at the Foreign Ministry over the Dalai Lama's Tawang visit.

The Foreign Ministry said that India "in disregard of China's concerns obstinately arranged the Dalai [Lama]'s visit to the eastern part of the India China border causing serious damage to China's interests and to India China relations."

Hua, the spokesperson, dismissed India's suggestion of the visit to Arunachal being "religious" without a political message, saying those were "empty words". "We have noted the statement form officials of the Indian side," Hua said.

"Can you tell me honestly do you seriously believe the Dalai [Lama] is only a religious leader? The answer is known to all. He is not just a religious figure. Therefore his visit to this place will not be of a purely religious purpose. So using these empty words to define this arrangement is not reasonable".

Source: Agencies


risingbd/Dhaka/April 06, 2017/A K Azad

risingbd.com